Film Review: The Patriot

The movie The Patriot is based on the American Revolutionary War and shows the road to the independence. More specifically, this movie shows how Americans won independence from the British and how British troops were unable to defeat American militia. The fact is that minutemen, led in the film by a man named Benjamin Martin, used guerilla tactics to achieve an American victory. The Patriot does raise a question though: was this the reality of life for militiamen during the Revolution? The answer to this question is that the film does not show the realities of life during the Revolution because it exaggerates AmericansЃf involvement and portrays the British as cruel.

Benjamin Martin, a hero of the French and Indian War, renounced fighting to raise his family in peace; however, the peaceful life starts to fall apart because of the American Revolutionary War. BenjaminЃfs eldest son, passionate and patriotic Gabriel, decides to join the Continental Army to fight against the British for freedom and independence.

Benjamin opens his home for the treatment of injured soldiers for both sides; the Continental Army and British troops. Then, Gabriel arrives home with injuries, and Benjamin is visited by British Colonel Tavington who orders the arrest of Gabriel and the burning of BenjaminЃfs house. Also, sadistic Tavington shoots and kills Thomas, BenjaminЃfs second boy. After Tavington and his troops leave, Benjamin arms himself and his other children and rescues Gabriel.

Benjamin organizes militiamen with his leadership experience. The British troops suffer surprise guerrilla attack by BenjaminЃfs militiamen, and Benjamin becomes known as the ghost. Temporarily, Benjamin and Gabriel can have peace and modest happiness such as marriage, but that peaces and happiness are broken by TavingtonЃfs troops, and also, Gabriel loses his life at this point.

Benjamin fights against Tavington. There is a bloody battle. Benjamin avenges Tavington for his sonЃfs death. The Continental Army wins a triumph over the British troops and takes freedom and independence from the British.

Generally, the term militiamen means a small group of armed people. Also, some of groups refer to themselves as citizenЃfs militias. Typically, the members of militiamen consist of men ages from 18 years old to 45 years old. When a big battle happened, small groups of militiamen from several towns combined into a big one. In the battle of Concord, for example, Ѓgapproximately 400 militia from concordЃfs muster rolls, one hundred would also serve as minutemenЃh (Ronemus).

The militiamen had only one disadvantage, which was the lack of strong central leadership. It led to the collapse of the militiamen easily. ЃgAlthough lacking central command, they were still better organized and battle-tested than any other part-time militaryЃh (Ronemus). If the American Revolutionary War did not have